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Former President Barack Obama speaks at a community event on the Presidential Center at the South Shore Cultural Center, Wednesday, May 3, 2017, in Chicago. The Obama Foundation unveiled plans for the former president’s lakefront presidential center, showcasing renderings and ... more >

Construction on former President Barack Obama’s center was to start this year. However, the Obama Foundation says it now plans to break ground for the half-billion-dollar project sometime in 2019.

Before the presidential center can be built, the federal government will review its impact on Jackson Park. The park on the city’s South Side is on the National Register of Historic Places. The project’s environmental effects will also be analyzed. Any adverse effects must be resolved before construction is allowed.

The Obama Presidential Center is expected to have three buildings containing a museum, meeting rooms, an athletic center and a public library branch.